A New Addition
by sherryg
Summary: This is a Cullen Family story. What if they got a new addition? Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Stephenie Meyer. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. I am in no way asso
1. Chapter 1

A New Addition

Edward and Bella lay curled together on the sofa in the large living room of the Cullen house. Alice and Jasper sat nearby. It was just after 10 pm on Friday night and they were watching a vampire movie, chuckling over green skin, glowing eyes and vampires that could fly.

"Oh no," Edward gasped, "no, not the cross!" He held his hand up in front of his eyes and screamed. They all laughed outloud.

A loud, keening cry sliced through Edward's consciousness. He jumped up and looked wildly around, a low growl coming from his throat. Getting himself quickly under control, he glanced at Bella. While his gift of telepathy inexplicably did not work on her, he didn't have to be a mind reader to know she was afraid. Her fear was written across her features, from the widening of her eyes to the way her mouth was slightly agape.

"What's wrong, Edward?" she asked quickly.

"Alice?" he asked. The cry continued to echo in his mind.

The intensity of the cry drowned out Bella's question, making it difficult to maintain his equilibrium.

She nodded, indicating that she had heard it too.

Carlisle ran down the stairs and looked at them. Esme followed closely.

"I think we have company," Carlisle said, calm authority edging his voice.

Alice closed her eyes and gripped the arms of the chair in which she was sitting.

"Alice? What do you see?" Jasper asked, kneeling in front of her and rubbing the backs of her legs gently. He hoped to soothe her, as her gift of foresight could at times be difficult for Alice to bear alone.

She opened her eyes and looked sadly Jasper and then Carlisle. "It's a little boy. Maybe five or six. He's at the edge of the river, near the large oak. He's alone."

"Is he human or..." Esme asked, looking at Alice.

"I can't tell. I can't get past scared and lonely."

Carlisle looked at Edward, who was hugging Bella to him. "Can you hear anything?"

"He's starving. He's alone and he's scared. I think he's one of us."

"Carlisle, we must go to him. He's a baby. We can't leave him out there," Esme said, immediately starting toward the door.

"Wait," Carlisle said, grabbing her arm. "It could be a trap. It wouldn't be the first time. " He looked at Alice and Edward again. "Are you sure he's alone?"

"Yes," they said at almost the same time.

"Let's go get him," Carlisle said, nodding at Edward. "Jasper, Alice, we'll need you too."

"Bella, stay here. It's safe here," Edward said, brushing a quick kiss over her lips.

She nodded in understanding.

Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Alice and Jasper quickly made their way up the trail beside the river. Alice could still clearly see the child.

"Edward? Alice? What's he doing now?" Carlisle asked.

"He has a very strange mind. He knows someone's coming. He's hiding and he's on guard," Edward said. He made a frustrated sound and growled, "I can't hear what he's thinking."

They rounded a bend and before them was a very large oak tree. In the moonlight, they could see small foot prints in the mud of the river bank.

"Where?" Esme asked. She was aching to find the little boy. The thought of a child in pain was more than she could bear.

Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She pointed to a stand of bushes beside the bank. "In there," she said.

Edward moved forward and put his hand on Carlisle's arm. "Be careful. I'm just getting bits and pieces of thought. I have no idea what he's going to do."

Carlisle and Edward eased forward. Carlisle pulled a branch back and caught sight of the child. He and Edward reached into the bush but just before they got their hands on the boy, he shoved them backwards. The force of the shove knocked them to the ground, momentarily stunning them.

The high pitched cry sliced through their minds again. Jasper felt waves of fear coming from the area around the bushes. He slowly stepped forward.

"Hi, Little Guy," he said, easily. "You're very strong. Can you come out now? We're not going to hurt you."

A hiss, followed by a low snarl, could be heard.

The Cullens looked at each other with raised eyebrows. That sound could only come from one kind of being...a vampire. It confirmed what they already believed.

"Come on, Little Guy," Jasper said, "we're here to help."

The only response from the boy was his moving further back into the bush.

Edward could feel the force of Jasper's mind trying to reach out and calm the situation.

"It's not working. He's closed his mind to us," Edward said. "We can't just leave him out here to wander. He's too dangerous. We've got to...to...take control."

Esme, realizing that Edward was saying they were either going to have to capture him or kill him, cried out, "NO!! He's a baby. He has no idea what he's doing. He's all alone and this the only way he can protect himself." She inched forward, kneeling in front of the bush.

"Esme! Be careful!" Carlisle urged in a low voice. "We have no idea what he might do."

"Baby?" Esme said in a quiet voice.

They all saw him tilt his head slightly, not moving forward, but not moving farther into the bush.

"Baby? Please come out. I'm here to take care of you. I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe. Baby?" she crooned.

Edward looked at Carlisle. "It's working. He's letting his guard down. He's still scared though." He looked over at Jasper and nodded. Edward felt a wave of calm spreading through the air.

Esme reached into the bush and guided the child out.

The little boy that stood before them was of unearthly beauty. His hair was a mop of loose, dark curls that framed a round face. His eyes were the vivid red of all newborn vampires, and wary. Large dark circles were under his eyes and his lips were very pale.

"What's your name?" Esme asked.

"Dylan," he whispered hoarsely.

Carlisle stepped towards him. "Where did you come from?" he asked, wondering again if this was an elaborate trap.

Dylan's nose flared and they heard a low growl.

Esme held up her hand and shook her head. She looked at Dylan intently.

"Dylan, we're like you. We can help you. Will you come home with us?" Esme asked, holding her hand out.

Everyone looked at the child, waiting for his answer.

Dylan fleetingly touched her face, stared at her, seeming to look directly into her mind, nodded, and took her hand.

Esme felt a silent question in her mind, the question was tinged with distrust and an overwhelming yearning. She knew he had to have guidance and lots of love.

The mood of the others relaxed when they saw the child take Esme's hand. They started back towards the house.

Esme, unconsciously brushing leaves and dirt out of Dylan's hair, looked over her shoulder at Carlisle and Jasper. "You'll need to take care of his meal. He's starving."

They nodded in understanding and were quickly gone.

"You'll want to get Bella out of the house," Esme said. "As thirsty as he is, she might not be safe."

Edward was instantly gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Esme, Alice and Dylan returned to an empty house. Edward had taken her advice and taken Bella home. In the light they could see that Dylan was older than they initially thought. He was also filthy. He was wearing a small leather backpack, with "DylanM" embroidered on it, ripped jeans and a black Gap hoodie. His clothes were covered in mud and leaves. He had no shoes.

"Let's see if we can get you cleaned up," Esme said, reaching for a cloth on the counter.

Dylan had yet to speak again, but he watched all of Esme's movements intently.

Alice looked at Dylan and tried to lift some hint of him from his mind, but she came against a blank wall. _'How frustrating. This must be how Edward feels around Bella,'_ Alice thought.

Dylan looked at Alice with a faint smile that hinted at deep dimples. "Sorry," he said huskily.

Alice smiled back at him guiltily.

"How old are you, Dear?" Esme asked, holding a wet cloth up for Dylan to see before approaching him. She'd seen his strength and didn't want to risk being on the receiving end of it.

"I'm ten," he answered in a low voice, shrugging out of his backpack and holding his face up for Esme.

"How did you get here?" Alice asked. "We usually know when one of our kind is nearby, but you snuck up on us."

Hearing the back door open, Dylan spun around, inhaled sharply and growled low in his chest. He stepped in front of Esme and raised one hand slightly. Alice could feel him getting ready to strike.

"NO!" Alice yelled, looking at Emmett and Rosalie, "GET BACK!" Emmett, caught off guard, instantly slammed the door.

"It's okay," Esme said, hugging Dylan to her and pulling his hand back down to his side without thought of her own safety. "It's okay. They won't hurt you," she continued, in a soft voice. She looked at Alice and pointed at the door. "Go talk to them."

Esme pulled a chair out, sat down and took a deep breath. She turned Dylan around and pulled him in front of her. "My name is Esme Cullen. And you're Dylan. What's your last name, Dylan?"

He shrugged in answer.

"Sweetheart, it's okay. No one here will hurt you," Esme said, smiling and nodding. "Can you tell me what you were doing walking around in the forest without any shoes on?" she asked, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

Dylan looked down at his bare feet and then back at Esme. "I don't know," he replied.

"Don't worry," she said, "we'll find you some. If I find you something to wear will you give me your clothes so I can wash them?"

Before he could answer, there was a tap on the back door. Dylan instantly stiffened and looked over his shoulder at the door but relaxed slightly when he saw it was Alice.

"Carlisle and Jasper are back," she said quietly.

Esme and Alice guided Dylan outside and to the edge of the forest. Emmett and Jasper stood holding a deer. It was tied and its heart was beating so wildly that it wouldn't live much longer. Alice could feel waves of calm coming from Jasper. No one wanted a repeat of the scene earlier by the river. Rosalie stopped when she saw Dylan. The black curly hair made her think of Emmett as he might have looked at that age.

"An animal?" Dylan asked. He gave Carlisle a confused look.

"Yes," Carlisle said, standing close to, but not touching the child. "We'll talk about it later. Do you know what to do?"

"No," Dylan whispered, his mouth suddenly flowing with venom.

"Can everyone leave us please," Carlisle said, smiling and reaching for Dylan's hand. "We'll be in in a bit."

Dylan looked from Carlisle's hand, to his face and back to Esme.

Esme smiled and nodded reassuringly.

Dylan looked back at Carlisle, took a deep breath and hesitantly took the offered hand.

Suddenly it was just Carlisle and Dylan. "Alright, Son. Let me explain..."

Carlisle guided Dylan into the brightly lit kitchen. Esme, Alice, and Rosalie were sitting at the breakfast table talking quietly. Jasper and Emmett were perched on kitchen counters.

Dylan looked nervously at each of the Cullens before dropping his head and looking at his bare feet. His face was clean, but there was tacky blood drying in his hair, and his black sweatshirt was wet at the neck.

"Better?" Esme asked, smiling encouragingly at him.

Dylan nodded but didn't look up. He reached up and pushed his hair back from his forehead. When Dylan pulled his hand back, seeing it slick with blood, a visible tremor of revulsion rocked his body. He quickly scrubbed his small hand across his shirt.

Esme drew in a breath, and wanting to take away the pain that the little boy was feeling, quickly crossed the room and put her arm around his shoulders.

"How about a hot shower? You'll feel much better after a nice shower," she said, trying to get him out of the bloody clothes as quickly as she could. "Here let's go ahead and get this shirt off. You can give me your jeans when we get upstairs."

He quickly pulled his sweat shirt over his head, happy to get it off. The dampness around the collar was a constant reminder of what he'd just done.

Carlisle frowned when he saw that Dylan's left forearm was encased in a blue cast.

"How did you break your arm?" Carlisle asked, squatting in front of Dylan.

"Me, Weston and Donovan were playing ambush at the creek with Airsoft guns. I slipped on a rock," Dylan whispered.

"Who are Donovan and Weston?" Esme asked.

"My brothers," Dylan mumbled.

Carlisle looked at the boy intently, wanting to find out more about his family but seeing the woeful expression on Dylan's face, he decided not to.

"We can take that off now," Carlisle said, tapping the cast. You don't need it anymore."

"But Nanny said I had to have it for a long long time," Dylan said, confused.

"Not anymore," Carlisle said, smiling at the little boy. "Aren't you lucky? My bag's upstairs. We'll remove the cast before you get in the shower."

Esme took Dylan's hand and they followed Carlisle up the stairs to the second floor.

Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie looked at Alice.

"What's going on? Where'd he come from?" Emmett asked. He and Rosalie had spent the early part of the evening at the Port Angeles Best Buy and the rest of it parking at Meyer's Point. Emmett had joked all the way home that he was pretty sure he'd gotten luckier than most of the guys out there.

Before Alice could answer, Edward walked into the kitchen.

"Where is he? Did you find anything out?" Edward asked, looking at Alice while pulling his jacket off and dropping his keys into a bowl on the counter.

"I don't know. He's not really talking yet, and his mind's closed," Alice said. "Carlisle had to teach him how to feed. It was like he'd never done it before."

"I wonder how new he is?" Jasper asked. "He's really confused and scared."

"Do you think he'll stay?" Rosalie asked. She was still surprised by his resemblance to Emmett.

"I don't know," Edward answered. "We can't just let him wander off."

Carlisle walked into the kitchen carrying the pieces of Dylan's cast. He tossed them in the trash and turned around.

"What was that?" Edward asked.

"Cast," Carlisle answered absently. He took a deep breath, pulled out a chair and, sat down. "We need to talk before Esme gets back downstairs. She's become very attached to this little boy. We still have no idea where he came from or why he's here. What are we going to do?"

Edward and Alice looked at each other before turning to Carlisle. A silent communication took place between them.

"I don't think we can let him leave," Edward said. "What if he unleashed that strength on a human? He'd kill them in a blood frenzy. It'd break the treaty."

Emmett looked at Edward and Carlisle, confusion etching his features. "What did he do? You keep talking about this thing he did. What did he do?"

"He completely closed his mind to us and when Carlisle and I tried to get him out of the bush, he shoved us so hard we fell," Edward said, awe in his voice. "I've never felt anything like that. He thought 'get away' and shoved and we went down. It's like you in a little kid."

"I agree. He needs to stay here," Carlisle said, nodding. He looked at Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie. "What do you think? You have a say in this, too."

"Hey," Emmett said, grinning, "the more the merrier. It'll be fun having a kid around."

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"They're coming back," Alice said.


	3. Chapter 3

Dylan walked slowly into the kitchen. His hair was still wet but the unruly curls couldn't be forced flat. They were already starting to corkscrew out of control. He was dressed in a long white button down shirt. The tails of the shirt hit below his knees. The neck was so big, it constantly threatened to fall off his shoulder.

Seeing the arms of the shirt flopping against his legs, Rosalie smiled at him.

"You know it fits me the same way," she said, beckoning him over. "Emmett's shirts are huge. Let me get those sleeves for you."

Walking over to her and holding out his arms, he turned his vivid red eyes on her, smiled a disarming toothless grin, flashing his dimples, and said, "Thank you, Rosalie."

"You're...you're welcome," she said, suddenly floundering for words. Rosalie hadn't thought about her friend Vera and Vera's baby boy, Henry, in a long time. Seeing the black curls and dimples brought all the regrets of losing her humanity back to the surface.

Tilting his head and staring at her intently for a minute, he asked, "Who's Henry?"

"How...how did you...how did he..." she looked around the table, meeting six sets of shocked eyes. She shoved her chair back suddenly and hurried out the back door.

Emmett watched her leave. He was torn, he wanted to hear what Dylan had to say but Rose seemed really upset. He finally decided that Rose probably needed a few minutes alone, if he was wrong, he'd deal with it later.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, looking fearfully at Carlisle. "I forgot. I'm not supposed to do that. It was just so loud. I'm sorry." Dylan dropped his head and shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"Please sit down," Carlisle said, gesturing at Rosalie's vacant seat.

Dylan sat down, he swung his feet slowly, his toes barely touching the floor. He reached into the pocket of the shirt and pulled out a small pair of glasses. After wiping the small round lenses, he put them on and looked up. He was well aware that everyone in the room was watching him intently and it made him very uncomfortable.

Jasper, feeling how uncomfortable the child was, tried to send out a aura of calm. It seemed to work on everyone but the intended recipient.

"Why are you wearing those?" Jasper asked. "You shouldn't need them."

Dylan looked at Jasper with confused eyes and answered, "Because I wear glasses."

"But..." Jasper started to reply but seeing the look on Carlisle's face dropped the subject.

"You're ten?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes."

"How long have you been ten?" Edward asked.

"Edward!" Esme said, glaring at him.

"What?" Dylan asked confused. "I've been ten since Christmas."

"What happened to your teeth?" Carlisle asked.

"He pulled them out when I was...was...sick," he whispered, shivering unconsciously remembering the burning. "He said it would make me look younger and get more people," Dylan said, grimacing at the memory.

Alice gasped, seeing the image in her mind. "How horrible!"

"Who is he?" Carlisle asked, anger tingeing his voice.

"Isaac."

Dylan looked out the window, his brow furrowed. "She's very sad now. It's all my fault," he said to himself starting to bite his thumbnail. He pulled his thumb away from his mouth and looked down in confusion. The nail and skin around it were rock hard.

"Emmett? Would you find Rosalie and check on her for us please?" Esme asked, seeing the pain on Dylan's face.

Dylan looked over his shoulder at Emmett. "She's in the garden sitting on a bench. Please tell her I'm sorry."

Emmett quickly left.

After a few moments, Dylan smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "She's better now," he said, looking around the table. "It makes me feel bad when I do that to people."

"How long have you been able to do it?" Alice asked, leaning towards him.

"Always. It makes Father very angry," he said, looking unconsciously down at his arm. "I try very hard to not do it at all, but sometimes it's so loud I forget,"

"Your father..." Esme said quietly but was interrupted by Carlisle.

"You said you had brothers? How many?" he asked.

"I have six brothers."

"Six! Goodness," Esme said, smiling at Dylan. "Your mother's one busy lady." Looking around the room at her adopted sons, she smiled warmly again and said, "I can't imagine having seven active boys."

"My mum's dead," Dylan said quietly, looking down and picking at a button on his shirt.

Esme and Alice both gasped.

"Oh, Honey, I'm so sorry," Esme said, squeezing his arm.

Dylan shrugged uncomfortably and nodded.

Rosalie and Emmett walked into the kitchen. Emmett picked Rosalie up and sat her on the island beside Jasper and then stood in front of her. Rosalie put her arms around his neck and propped her chin on shoulder.

Carlisle cleared his throat but before he could speak, Dylan looked suddenly at Edward. The stare was so intense that Edward couldn't drop his eyes.

"Because I thought you were Joseph and Mike coming to bring me back," Dylan said answering Edward's unvoiced question.

Carlisle cleared his throat again and took a deep breath. "Dylan, no one's going to hurt you. Your ability is amazing, I'll have to say. Do you know what you are?"

"Yes. I'm a monster," he whispered, looking out the window.

"You don't have to be," Carlisle said. "Can you tell us how you became a vampire?"

"I...I...," Dylan started but dropped his head. He took a deep breath and pulled his knees up, wrapped his thin arms around them and rested his chin his knees. Looking at Carlisle, he continued. "I don't really remember. It was Christmas break. We were all home from school."

"Where did you go?" Rosalie asked.

"Fessenden," he answered, glancing at Rosalie.

"Nice school," she said, nodding. She whispered something in Emmett's ear.

"How much?! For a school?!" he roared.

"So you were home for the holidays," Carlisle prompted, trying to get back to Dylan's story.

"Yes. We had just had dinner with Father. I went back to my room and changed clothes," Dylan said and then pointed at his forehead. "Everything went away. It got quiet. Isaac was in my room, with Joseph and Mike. I remember something hitting me. Here," he said, touching the area behind his right ear. "When I woke up, I was turning into...into... this," he said, pointing at himself.

Dylan took a deep breath and rested his forehead on his knees. His memory raced back to a rainy day months before...

The door to the ice rink whooshed open and Vi Kelsey herded three boys towards the black Suburban now waiting for them at the curb.

"Quit dawdling. Your father will be home from the city in two hours. That's precious little time to get you home, dressed for dinner, and at the dinner table by seven. You know how your father is if there is a hair out of place or your tie isn't perfect. Now let's go," Vi said, trying to get her charges to the waiting car.

Vi found her job as nanny to the seven Massey boys to be both a blessing and a chore. For the most part, she did love the boys, but on days like today, when schedules were running late and there wasn't a moment to spare, she wished they could be more cooperative. She had learned in her ten years in the employ of Mr. Massey, that when he was home for dinner, which wasn't often due to the needs of his job, the rules were strict and there would be no deviations. Suits and ties were to be worn, mouths were to be closed, manners were to be in high supply. And of course, today they were at least 20 minutes behind schedule. It would be a miracle if they were able to pull it off tonight.

"Yeah, Curly," Weston sneered, pointing at Dylan's mop of corkscrewing curls and throwing an elbow at Dylan's head.. "You know how he is about a hair out of place."

"Shut up, Weston," Dylan yelled, shoving his brother. He was well aware of his father's feelings towards him and didn't need to be reminded.

"Weston, Dylan! Stop it! Now where is your brother?" Vi said, looking behind her. She gave an exasperated sigh when she saw him slowly walking behind her while texting on his cell phone.

"He's talkin' to his girlfriend," Dylan said, looking at Weston and laughing. Both Dylan and Weston looked at their nanny and started making kissing noises.

Peyton, realizing he was the butt of his younger brothers' joke, snapped his phone shut and shoved them both from behind.

"Boys! I swear you act like you were raised by a pack of wolves. Behave!" Vi said, embarrassed by their behavior.

Dylan's feet tangled with is gym bag and hockey stick making him trip and fall. A pair of cold white hands quickly lifted him to his feet and started brushing him off.

Dylan looked up, into the face of a man unlike any he'd ever seen before. Dylan gasped and quickly stepped back. The muscular man in front of him was dressed in priest's vestments. He was unnaturally pale, with eyes the color of coal. There was something about him that gave Dylan the creeps.

"I'm sorry, Father," he said, in a high pitched voice.

"Way to go, Stupid. Take out the Father with your hockey stick," Peyton said condescendingly while shaking his head. He ripped the stick out of Dylan's hand and walked on towards the Suburban, laughing with Weston the whole way.

Dylan couldn't move. The priest's eyes seemed to glue him to the sidewalk. A beautiful smile came across the priest's face when Vi hurried over.

"Dylan? Dylan, are you okay? Father? Is everything okay?" Vi asked. She'd seen Dylan have little spells like this before, but didn't know what caused them.

"Yes," the priest said, breaking eye contact with Dylan and looking at Vi. "Everything is fine. Young Dylan here tripped and fell. I was just helping him up. Right, Dylan?"

_'It's nice to finally meet you, Dylan Massey'_ barreled into Dylan's head. He knew he was the only one to hear this.

Dylan nodded without saying a word, acknowledging both the spoken word and the silent communication. He was scared, terrified. He could see this man, surrounded by a group of pale skinned kids in a dark house. He had no idea what it meant. He knew one thing for sure...this man was no Catholic priest.

"I'm Father Isaac Scott, Ma'am. Providence happened to have me here at exactly the right time."

"Thank you, Father," Vi said. She bent down and picked up Dylan's gym bag. She turned to Dylan, suddenly worried and wanting to get away from the priest. "Dylan, Honey, we need to go. We have to get home." She put her arm around the boy's shoulders and hurried him toward the waiting vehicle. Both she and Dylan glanced repeatedly over their shoulders at Father Isaac the whole way to the Suburban, both feeling uneasy in his presence.

Dinner was a tense affair, as usual. The focus of ire for this particular meal was Dylan, the fact that he couldn't wear a jacket due the cast on his left arm was the beginning of a long dinner. They made it through the salad, lobster, and were just about to get to dessert, when Jack Massey's eyes fixed on Dylan again.

"Dylan? Have you even eaten anything besides salad and bread?" Jack snarled at his youngest son.

"Yes, Father," Dylan said quietly. Underneath the table, his hands were twisting his napkin into knots.

"I don't think you have. I've had my eye on you. Come here."

Dylan slowly got up, pushed his chair in and walked to the head of the table.

"I spend thirty five thousand dollars a year to send you boarding school. Can they not even teach you how to tie your tie correctly," Jack asked in his clipped British accent, looking his youngest son up and down critically. "You're excused. When you can do something about that mop on your head and not look like a common street urchin in my presence, you can come back to family dinner. And not before, " Jack finished, turning away from Dylan.

Dylan quickly escaped the room. His brothers had not looked up one time during the speech. They felt bad for Dylan, but knew it could just as easily have been one of them, and still could be, dinner wasn't over yet.

He walked quickly through the house but didn't feel a sense of relief until he was back in the wing of the house that belonged to him and his brothers. Once back inside the safe confines of his bedroom, he relaxed and toed his shoes off. He had just changed into sweats and a Boston Bruins t-shirt and turned his laptop on when Vi walked into his bedroom with a covered plate and a large glass of milk.

"Cook thought you might be hungry," she said, sitting the plate on his desk.

"Yes. Thank you," he said, smiling at her. He took the napkin off the top of the plate and saw two peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches. Taking a large bite, he chewed with a look of happiness on his face.

"You finish both of those," Vi said pulling him into a fierce hug and kissing his forehead. _'I should've just kept him up here. I knew what he'd do when he couldn't wear the damn jacket,'_ she thought, tears in her eyes.

"It's okay. It'll be someone else's turn next time. Right?" he asked, acknowledging his nanny's unspoken thoughts.

Vi smiled at Dylan, secretly her favorite of the seven boys. Dylan's ability to pick the thoughts out of her mind could be disarming at times but it was part of him and she loved him. If only what Dylan said were true. Dylan more and more seemed to be the focus of Jack Massey's anger. While she missed him terribly, she was glad that he was finally old enough to go away to boarding school. Jack was never warm with any of his children, but he was downright contemptuous to Dylan.

"I'm going to run back to the kitchen and help Cook finish everything up. You stay up here and stay out of trouble," she said, patting the top of Dylan's head.

"Okay," he answered, ducking out from under her hand and booting up World of Warcraft.

A hour later, Dylan sat up from his hunched over position and reached for the backpack at his feet. His eyes were tired and his head was starting to ache. He dug underneath the book he was supposed to be reading over Christmas Break, his PSP and iPod and finally found the glasses case he was looking for.

Suddenly, he looked around in alarm. Something felt different. He couldn't hear anything. Usually everyone's thoughts were a background noise in his head. Dylan was used to it always being there, the total absence was wrong. A small bump behind him caused him to whirl around. The priest from earlier today was standing beside his bed. How had he gotten there? Dylan froze, unable to move.

"Hello, Dylan," Isaac said in a silky voice. He was no longer dressed as a priest.

"Hi," Dylan said, scared. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh, I've had my eye on you for a long time. You're special. You'll fit in just perfectly with my little family," the man said, continuing to smile, never breaking eye contact with Dylan.

"Special?" Dylan questioned. He knew something was wrong, very wrong and getting worse but he was unable to look away. Why hadn't any of his brothers or Nanny come upstairs. Surely dinner was over.

"Very special. We'll discuss all this later. Right now, I'd like to introduce you to my oldest sons, Joseph and Michael. They're going to help you sleep. It's a long trip to your new home." Isaac turned away and motioned someone toward them.

Dylan shook his head, coming out of a daze. He turned and saw two tall, thin teenagers smiling at him. He felt a blow to the back of his head and then everything went black.

Esme reached over and gently laid her hand on the back of Dylan's head.

Dylan jerked away and gasped, a look of terror in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Esme said, quickly pulling her hand away.

"No, I'm sorry," Dylan said, smiling tightly at her. "I guess I was dreaming. I'm bad about that. Father says it's a bad habit."

"Why didn't you eat the lobster?" Alice asked. She'd watched the memory as it unfolded in Dylan's head.

"I don't like lobster. It makes my mouth itch. I ate salad and bread, just not the lobster."

A terrible anger smoldered in Alice's eyes. Jasper looked at his wife with alarm. She didn't usually get that mad about anything. He moved behind her, put his hands on her shoulders and started to gently rub the back of her neck with his thumbs, all the while exuding a sense of calm. Alice looked up at him with a soft smile and leaned her head against his stomach.

Everyone looked from Alice to Dylan with confusion. They knew that something bad must have happened for Alice to be that angry.

"On the night Dylan was bitten, he got in trouble for not eating his dinner even though it sounds like he had a shellfish allergy," Alice explained.

The mood in the room quickly turned to one of anger at Dylan's family and sadness for Dylan.

He took a deep breath and looked back at Carlisle, continuing his story where he'd left off, as if Alice hadn't spoken.

"Isaac, Joseph and Mike took me Seattle."

"What did you do while you lived with Isaac? How did you make yourselves look normal?" Jasper asked. "How many were in the group?"

"There were eight of us, and Isaac. We're all orphans and he's Father Isaac."

"How did he have money to look legitimate?" Emmett asked.

"We robbed people," Dylan answered matter-of-factly.

"How did you feed, Dylan?" Carlisle asked quietly.

Dylan dropped his head. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Carlisle from under his bangs. "I was supposed to bump into people or trip and fall or look like I was lost and cry. Kimmy was lookout. Joseph and Davy picked 'em clean. If we did good, Isaac would...," Dylan tried to answer. Shaking his head slightly, he continued. "I usually went out with Joseph, Davy and Kimmy. We were against Mike, Jason, Maria and China. Whoever did the best got to..."

"Modern day Fagin. That's disgusting," Edward replied.

"You're not a brand new newborn are you?" Jasper asked. He could feel the guilt rolling off of Dylan.

Dylan did not reply. He turned his head and looked out the dark window.

"He said he would kill Nanny and the boys," Dylan replied tonelessly.

After a few moments he continued. "I tried not to. I don't like to see blood. But he made me. He would wait til I got tired," Dylan said frowning, wanting a better word but not knowing one, "and then force me to drink. Everyone made fun of me. I didn't want to, but he made me."

"What's your last name, Dylan? Where are you from?" Carlisle asked, his face showing concern for the child's guilt.

Dylan looked at Carlisle with fear and distrust in his eyes and asked, "Why?"

"We're not like Isaac. We mean your family no harm Dylan. We don't hunt humans. Our lifestyle is different than that. We feed on animals. We live here as a family, with Esme and myself the adoptive parents of five teenagers. We would love for you to stay, but we won't force the issue. We want nothing from you other than for you to be at peace. You're free to go whenever you choose. If you do leave, we ask that you not hunt in this area. A murder," Carlisle said, and seeing the pained expression on Dylan's face, tried to soften his words, "an unexplained death, would bring a lot of people to this area. We try to blend in. We don't need a lot of police or investigators here looking around."

Dylan stared intently at Carlisle, his bright ruby eyes seeming to bore into Carlisle's head. Carlisle sat calmly, not moving. After what seemed like an eternity to everyone else in the kitchen, Dylan took a deep breath and looked down. Looking to his right, he saw Esme. She had a warm smile on her face and was nodding reassuringly at him. He stared briefly at everyone else in turn, seeing only acceptance and curiosity.

"My name is Dylan Jacob Massey. I'd like to stay."


End file.
